“Oh, right. Thank you. Yes, my refrigerator. I’ve had it since, oh, I don’t know. Many, many years.”

“Fascinating,” I said, because I couldn’t help it.

Lizzy ignored it. “One day, the refrigerator broke, so I called the repairman. This was, oh, I don’t know. Maybe two months ago.”

“Okay,” I said, just to keep her moving along.

“So he said that he would come between noon and five P.M. That’s how they do it, these repairmen. They don’t give you a specific time, like they used to. They give you a block of time. You’re supposed to sit and wait, but then again, I had no place to go.”

I wanted to pull the words out of her mouth, but I guess that she needed to go at her own pace.

“So anyway, at noon I came downstairs. I like to sit in the living room and listen to my old record player. I play it all day long. I know it’s funny for an old lady, but I love the old rock. The Who. The Rolling Stones. I have Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys. Have you ever heard it?”

“Yes.”

“Do you like it?”

“Very much.”

“Me too. My favorite is HorsePower. Do you know them?”

I nodded. “They’re my mother’s favorite.”

“I know.” She smiled at me again. “But on that day, I wanted to be sure to hear the doorbell. I didn’t want to miss the repairman. So I kept the music off. I made myself a cup of Earl Grey tea and sat at the kitchen table and waited for the repairman to arrive. It seemed to take forever.”

“I know the feeling,” I muttered.

“What?”

“Never mind. You were waiting for the repairman.”

“Yes. And I fell asleep. Right there. Right at the kitchen table. I don’t know why. I never nap during the day. But I was tired, I guess. Or maybe it was because the refrigerator was silent. Or that there was no music playing. I can’t explain, but I fell asleep. And that’s when I heard it.”

“Heard what?”

“In my sleep. In my dream, I guess. I heard your father’s voice.”

I tried not to make a face. “In a dream?”

“Maybe.”

“And, uh, what did he say?”

“I couldn’t hear much. It was very muffled. But I knew it was his voice. I could make out the word Luther. That was about it. He sounded in trouble, though. There was panic in his voice. A knock on the door woke me up. The repairman was there.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “And this is why you thought my father was alive?”

“Yes.”

“Because you heard a voice?”

“His voice.”

“In your sleep?”

“Yes.”

I didn’t even know what to say to that.

“Mickey?”

“Yes.”